


Crossed Paths

by ravenadler



Category: Bones (TV), Fringe (TV), Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Foster Care
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2018-09-24 22:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9790733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenadler/pseuds/ravenadler
Summary: A shared month in the life of three girls, that becomes amazing women in their own particular ways, in their own particular universes.I was watching this three shows, and this Idea got stuck in my head, it is going to be an AU, obviously, the three of them never meet, but I tried to follow cannon as must as possible (Following cannon OUaT and Fringe is not easy, and I only watch the firsts 4 seasons of Bones, and I ship SwanQueen, so Emma is not straight).It will have domestic violence and child abuse in later chapters, but nothing graphic, so I don't think it needs a warning, but I will tag it when I post the chapter with it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> From Olivia POV, because of the three she is my favorite.
> 
> According with their bios online:
> 
> Emma Swan, born in October of 1983 - 10 years old  
> Olivia Dunham, born in October of 1979 – 14 years old  
> Temperance Brennan, in born January of 1976 – 17 years old in November – 1993, date of this fic

Olivia is not scared, fear is a feeling that she didn’t feel for a while now, she is sad, maybe, her mom just died after all, and her sister is God knows where, with a “new family”, her sister doesn’t need a new family, she already has one, even if is just a sister now. Maybe angry is the right feeling. Angry with her mother that left them alone, angry at her uncle that didn’t come visit his sister while she was dying, angry at the foster care system that decide her sister was better off with a new family, and mostly angry at the social worker with her fakes smiles and empty promises, that are just ignoring her right now.

While her sister is a lovely child and got a placement with a foster family very fast, Olivia, that was already a teenager and not a lovely one, was going to be send to a group home, but they are going to the social worker office first, for some reason that the social worker didn’t bother to explain. 

The building is an ugly gray thing, with long hallways, also grey, but while they walk through the maze off walls and doors that looks just the same, Olivia sees a room with colorful drawings and toys, that seems familiar, like a long forgotten memory, but there is not much time to think about it, because her social worker finally finds her office and asks Olivia to wait in one of the chairs outside de room.

There are six chairs outside the office, three off each side of the hallway, with two girls already sitting in front each other in silence. Olivia decide sit close to the older one, that looks like about 16 or 17 years old, with auburn hair and big blue yes, she has a plastic bag at her feet, filled with her belongs, Olivia presumes, and lost in thought. 

The other girl is much younger, about Rachel age, around 10 years old, with long blond hair and a bored expression in her face. She has a small suitcase, like Olivia herself, and keeps swinging her feet in the uncomfortable plastic chair, like she is about to bolt and leave the place at any minute.

None of them seems approachable, so Olivia remains in silence too. After a few minutes that seemed like hours in the uncomfortable silence the social worker shows up with a little more sincere smile in her face and some files in her hand. “Good news girls! I found a placement for the three of you, you won’t have to go to the group home”, she says.

“Together?” the younger girl asks, seeming concerned.

“Yes” the social worker answered, and after noticing the concerned faces of the girls, added with less enthusiasm “I don’t know how you manage to fight in this short period, but I’m sure you will get along in time, just wait here for a few more minutes while I get some forms and we are going to your new house” 

“A least she said house, not home”, the younger girl said going back to her bored face.

“Why is it a bad thing that we go to the same house?” Olivia asks.

“First time in the system?” the blond girl asks, and Olivia nods, but do not obtain any further answers from the girl.

“Usually families that take to many children are not very nice, especially if they take more than one teenager”, the older girl offers instead.

“And a problematic child” the youngest complements, crossing her arms with a mix of anger and sadness in her face, but it last only a few seconds until she offers “I’m Emma, by the way, Emma Swan”.

Olivia, also introduces herself and looks to the older girl, that only says something after Emma asks “And you?”

“Brennan, Temperance Brennan”.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got more attention than I was expecting for this, I really thought that no one would read, but I even got reviews!  
> And I'm not depressed right now, so I will try to finish it, the plan is 8 chapters, maybe more, or longer chapters, but I can't promise any deadlines...
> 
> Thank you for every one that read it!

The social worker takes her time to get the forms, and Olivia starts to feel the anxiety grow in the other two girls, starting to affect her too. When they are ready to go, the tension between them feels like almost a physical entity, crushing them so much that Olivia, who always liked the silence, starts to wish that someone or something had broken it.

The Silence, unfortunately, lasted all the way to the car, and the trip to the new house, the monosyllabic orders of the social worker weren’t enough to end it, being barely registered by the girls. Olivia had millions of questions, but somehow new that was no use to ask then, they would not be answered, at least not honestly.

In the car Temperance and Emma claimed the backs seats, clinging on their respective bags, ignoring the social worker and the open door of the front seat that she was holding, so Olivia felt like she had to sit on the front, despite her wish to sit in the back with the others, but this made her feel even more uneasy, isolated, a little too much, she is used to being lonely, prefer it that way, but in this new situation being isolated don’t seems like a good idea. 

Their new house was not much different from Olivia’s old house, two floors, white, wooden door, number 68, nothing special or significantly different, just a house. 

The social worker, Ms. Hall, Ms. Patricia Hall, Olivia thinks that she should start using the woman name in her musings, but the name does not fit her very well, and in her head the woman is more a concept, a representation of the foster system, then a person, so she remain nameless for the most part. Ms. Hall rings the door bell and some very long seconds later a woman opens the door.

And the owner fits the house, nothing really stands out in her, white skin, black straight hair just past the shoulders, average height and weight, and average everything, she introduces herself as Mrs. Hughes and welcomes the four of them in the house. Inside the house they met Mr. Hughes, who is a male version of his wife, just a little more muscles and little less hair. 

After the introductions the Hughes signs some papers and Ms. Hall starts to leave, but before she goes she gives Olivia a card, one week smile and says “Temperance and Emma are in the system for a while now, but this is your first time, so if you need anything just call me”. After that Mrs. Hughes take they to their new room.

The room looks like an hotel room to Olivia, or an orphanage room, with a bunk bed in one side and a single bed in the other, a simple desk and a closet, nothing more, not even curtains in the window. The hospital room that her mom spend her last days seems more welcoming then this room.

“I will let you three settle in” Mrs. Hughes says with a nice voice “I hope you don’t have problem with sharing the closet”, she complements with some edge in her voice, that sound more like I warning in Olivia ears “I will let you know when the dinner is ready”.

“I call dibs on the top bed” Emma calls already climbing on said bed.

“You are still a child, you should stay on the bottom beds” Temperance counters.

“I’m not a baby, I’m already ten, it is not like I’m going to wet the bed or something!” 

“But a fall from the top bed could hurt you more than us”

“I’m not going to fall, I’ve already slept on top beds before”

“I think is ok for her to sleep there, my sister claimed the top bed when she was seven, she fell once, but only got some bruises” Olivia decides to intervene in the argument.

“You have a sister?” Temperance asks and Emma follows “Where is she?” 

“Yes, I have a sister, her name is Rachel, she is ten, but they find her a new family when my mom was still alive I think, they took her the day after the funeral” Olivia explains 

“So your parents are dead, they did not abandon you?” Emma asks hugging the pillow of the top bed.

“But you abandoned your sister” Temperance says in an accusatory tone.

“They didn’t let me take care of my sister, since I’m only 14, they didn’t even let us be together, finding her a new “family”, saying that she has big chances of being adopted, but only her!” Olivia answers raising her voice.

The room stays in a tense silence for a few seconds, until Temperance sits in the bed on the other side of the room and starts “I’m sorry, is that my brother…” But she gets interrupted by Mr. Hughes “What is happening here?” when the girls don’t say anything he continues “I will not allow any fights in my house, you are here for less than 30 minutes, and there are already shouting?”

“I’m sorry Mr. Hughes, it will not happen again” Olivia apologizes.

“I hope not, Ms. Hall said that you two were calm teenagers, so I expect the you act like it, and I count on you to keep the kid in line” Mr. Hughes says with a warning tone, pointing to Emma at the end, he waits a few seconds until the older girls nod and live the room closing the door.

“Why do you think he foster all of us?” – Emma asks hugging the pillow even tighter. 

“I don’t know” Olivia answers still looking at the closed door.


	3. Chapter 3

Not a great start, Olivia though. After that, they get back to silence.

Emma just lay down with a long sigh and was staring at the ceiling, Temperance wrote something in her sneakers and then get a book from her bag and started reading, while Olivia sit down on the bed and tried to think how she could get back to her sister.

_________________________________

Later Mrs. Hughes called them for dinner, a dinner that seems less appetizing than the hospital food that her mom received in her lasts days, but Olivia thanked Mrs. Hughes anyway.

A little more of an uncomfortable silence, that Olivia was starting to hate, and Mrs. Hughes began to speak in a “social worker happy voice”.

“We weren’t expecting the three of you all at once, that’s why you will be sharing one room for now, we are still preparing the other room, where Emma will be staying”, none of the girls knew how to answer, and Mrs. Hughes didn’t wait for a answer either “You will love it Emma! It is made for a princess, we are thinking of a Snow White theme or maybe Cinderella, because you are blonde”.

“I can share with them, I don’t care, and I like to sleep in the top bed” – Emma answer, didn't looking so happy with the idea of a princess room.

“Nonsense, that room is too small for three girls” – Mrs. Hughes answer in the same happy tone, while Mr. Hughes, in a much more serious tone, says “You are too small to sleep in the top bed, Temperance, as the older one, I expect you to look out for the younger ones, so make sure she sleeps in the bottom bed”.

Temperance started to say something, but thought better of it and kept quiet, shrinking in her seat. Emma lower her head, almost hiding herself with her hair, while Olivia tried to think of something to say, like she should defend them somehow, but couldn’t think of anything useful.

The dinner went on with small talk between the Hughes while the girls stayed in silence, after everyone finished Olivia offered to wash the dishes and Mrs. Hughes said that the three of them should do it, to “get used to help around the house”.

They somehow get on a better mood doing the dishes, they worked well together, but when they got back to the room Emma gave a long sigh, remembering the she would have to change beds, she stomp heavily walking to the bunk bed, climbed fast and just threw her suitcase on the ground with a huff.

Luckily, Olivia had already closed the door, avoiding the Hughes from hearing Emma.

“You can sleep in my bed” Temperance offers. But Emma, who had already get down of the bed, didn’t say anything, just kept staring at her things on the ground with her arms crossed looking angry.

“At least is not going be for long, soon you will have your own room” Olivia says, trying to calm Emma.

“It is not going to be my room, and I won’t stay here ‘till the room is ready anyway” Emma answers looking  younger, morphing from angry to sad.

“Why not? Are you going to run away?” Temperance asks.

“No, I’m going to stay here for two months tops, then they will realize that they don’t want me anymore and send me away, realize that I did not deserve my own room” Emma says in a heartbreaking mix of anger and sadness, sitting down on Olivia’s bed looking defeated.

Olivia sits down close to Emma and put her arm on her back in a soothing way “Don’t think like that, Mrs. Hughes seemed exited to have you here”.

But the word had the opposite effect in Emma that quickly got back to feeling angry, she got up fast, pushing Olivia’s arm and almost shouting “You don’t know anything! You had a family, you were not abandoned, these people don’t want me, they don’t want any child that gives them trouble!”

“Emma, please, stay calm” Temperance pleads looking fearfully to the door.

A look of fear also crossed Emma’s eyes, while she looks from Olivia to Temperance and to the door, she then take a few deep breaths and crossed her arms again, clearly still angry.

And this was Olivia’s first day in the foster system, but she knew what is like to fear someone that was supposed to protect you, and not trust the adults to keep you save, so she tried another approach.

“Being angry will not help the situation get any better, we got to try to follow the rules and survive as best as we can, until we can live on our own and do what we want” That bring some sparkle back to Emma’s eyes, but she kept she angry stance.

“I agree, I do what a can to stay in the same house, so I can keep going to the same school and keep my GPA the highest possible so I can go to college as soon as I finish high school” Temperance says also sitting down, but in her own bed “if I wasn’t in the system I would probably already be in college” she finish in a small voice, for herself mostly.

“But you are smart, I’m very dumb, I’m never going to college, I will probably become a criminal or a drug addict like everyone says” Emma says like she was daring the others to deny it.

“Not everyone have to go to college, you can be successful doing other things…” Olivia answer Emma’s dare, and continue with a playful smile “maybe you will be a real princess!”

Emma just crosses her arms trying to look defiant, but looking adorable in Olivia’s opinion, and with not real anger anymore.

“I don’t think it is possible to her became a princess, there are not much countries with monarchy anymore, and even she starts to live in one of them, she will have to marry a prince, and I pretty sure that even in this case she will became a duchess not a princess”. Temperance tried to help with pertinent information, but just made Emma confuse.

“Maybe a knight then, someone that will save the princess!” Olivia offers making Emma, who liked the idea better, smile. “I think that is even more improbable” Temperance says, making Olivia look at her with a pointed look that screams _not helping_ , while Emma loses her smile again.

Temperance panic for a few seconds, not wanting to make the others girls upset with her, but still thinking that they should not lie to Emma, so she tried a compromise “Maybe you will be police officer… or a sheriff and save someone important… like the mayor? it is more likely to happen, it is a similar situation…” she starts to ramble but Emma is already smiling again and Olivia have a different look, that doesn’t seems so bad so she just stops.

“I want to be a cop too” Olivia pulls Emma close and starts to tickle her “I want to be one since I was your age”.

“I want to be an anthropologist”

“What is that?” Emma asks wiggling her way out Olivia’s grasp still laughing.

“Anthropologist studies humans and their behavior, and societies…”

“But you will keep studying forever?”

“Yes it is important to keep updated with…” Temperance starts explaining but Olivia interrupts “I think she wanna know what an anthropologist do, how they use the knowledge of humans” Emma nods agreeing.

“Well we can work in museums, or as professors in a college, or as forensic anthropologist with the police…”

“So we will all be cops!” Emma concludes exited.

“Not exactly…”

“But we can all work together someday” Olivia interrupt Temperance, preventing another disaster. “Or we can promise each other that we will survive the system and one day when we are 30 or something we are going to meet again and compare how much people we had saved”

“I will win!” Emma declares.

“You are younger, so it is more likely that me or Olivia, we have more similar ages, will have already saved more people, and when we get to thirties you will be still in your twenties…” Temperance tried to reason, and Olivia intervenes again looking at Temperance almost pleading for her to let go “So we will pick a date when all of us are on ours thirties and the age won’t matter much, and we will probably all win”

Temperance found some problems in Olivia’s reasoning, but though would be better to not mention now, considering Olivia’s look, and not wanting to make Emma sad again.

“Ok” Emma agrees, and grabbing her suitcase she asks Olivia “can I stay in this bed?”

“Of course!” Olivia gets up and grab her own bag putting on the top bed “It is ok?” she asks looking at Temperance, who just nods.

They don’t talk much after that, they go with their night routine, eventually putting their things on the closet, without unpacking, and go to bed when Mrs. Hughes demands, through the closed door, for them to turn off the lights.


End file.
